A Trainee's Run
by Paratech Industries
Summary: Trainee Dan Shannon is about to get his first taste of Ghostbusting. Only problem is, the other Ghostbusters have disappeared, and now he has to get them back on his own. Please read my story, "Welcome Aboard" first, or it just won't plain make sense!


A Trainee's Run  
By Dan Ectodude Shannon

  
I have seen some strange things in my life, but ever since I became a Ghostbuster... this one takes the cheese.  
  
It was the 24th of June. It was 9:03 at night.  
  
As I walked through an old warehouse, wearing my dark blue and gray uniform, and my Proton Pack on my back, I quietly search for the specter that was causing a disturbance. Egon Spengler was on the southwest side of the warehouse, Peter Venkman on the southeast, Ray Stantz on the northeast, and Winston Zeddemore on the northwest.  
  
I, in particular, was in the middle corridor. I looked for the ghost, checking every row of crates, under every shelf, through every office window I came across, and up towards the ceiling every once and a while. I started to hear footsteps down the other end of the corridor. I pulled my Proton Gun off the holster on my Pack, and turned my Proton Pack on.  
  
I ducked down under a box at the end of the hallway, and listened to the footsteps getting closer. When I heard the step about 3 yards away, I jumped up from behind the box, and held up the Particle Thrower right in front of me...  
  
A man in pair of sky blue and red coveralls screamed and jumped back, as he covered his face. It was fellow Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore.  
  
Winston: Whoa, wadda minuet, Dan!  
  
Dan: ::dropping thrower:: Winston? Oh, god! You scared me crap outta me!  
  
Winston: I scared you? You almost gave me a heart attack!  
  
Dan: Sorry, man. When you hear strange things in a hallway... Uh... Well, you know what I mean.  
  
Winston: You have to be more careful with that thing. If you didn't catch who I was, I would have been fried!  
  
Dan: Hey, no harm done though, right?  
  
Winston: ::scratches head:: I guess.  
  
I re-holstered my thrower, and we walked down the corridor. We walked down to the southeast end of the warehouse, and we paid very close attention to our surroundings.  
  
I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but this was my first assignment as a Ghostbuster, or shall I say, my first 'busting' experience. At the time my skills were not fully developed, which explains my lack of reflexes. Also the fact that I don't know what ghosts are going to do what. I was a little scared, but then again, I'm given a dangerous, nuclear powered laser device. It couldn't get any scarier than that.  
  
Anyway, back to the point. We looked around for Peter, who was somewhere around the south end of the building. Winston peered around the right corner, as I looked around the left. I spotted a man in a pair of brown and green coveralls, walking away from me. I called out to the man to get his attention.  
  
Dan: ::whispering:: Peter!  
  
The man turned around, and looked at me. Winston also turned his attention to me.  
  
Peter: Yeah?  
  
Winston: Over here, man!  
  
Peter quickly creped back down the hallway towards us. We all huddled as we gave a briefing.  
  
Winston: Find anything?  
  
Peter: No, you guys?  
  
Dan: Nada.  
  
Winston: Nothing yet.  
  
Dan: Do we even have an idea of what it is yet?  
  
Peter: I didn't hear anything.  
  
Winston: That makes 2 of us.  
  
Dan: Correction, 3.  
  
Then, all of our radios crackled, as a deep, monotone voice came over them. It was Egon.  
  
Egon: ::over radio:: **_ Venkman, Shannon, Zeddemore, come in!_**  
  
Peter unhooked his radio from his belt, and spoke into it.  
  
Peter: ::in radio:: Venkman here. Zeddemore and Shannon are with me. Go ahead.  
  
Egon: _** Ray and I've found the ghost. Get up to the north side ASAP.**_  
  
This was it, I figured. I wasn't sure I could go through with it or not. Without even thinking, I followed Peter and Winston down the dark corridor. I'll tell ya one thing... running around with a 50 pound nuclear weapon on your back gives you power, but can tire you pretty frickin' fast, too.   
  
Dan: ::grabs stair railing:: Wait up! ::panting:: Give me a second... for me to... catch up with my heart.  
  
I would of figured this would have been an in-and-out procedure...  
  
Boy was I wrong.  
  
I finally caught my breath, and started to run after the others again. I saw the others round the corner of the hallway, with their throwers drawn. I was about to round the corner with them, when I saw a large flash of light from around the same corner. I covered my eyes to keep myself from going blind. I heard screaming.  
  
Winston came running out of the corner like a shot, followed by Peter. As they ran out, two other men, husky one in a light brown/tan uniform, and the other, a tall blond one in a light blue/pink uniform, came running behind them. It was Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler. As Ray ran by, he grabbed me by my pack strap, and pulled me in the other direction. I took off running behind them.  
  
When we got to an area, which was deemed, "The Safe Zone," we all caught up with our nerves. I had to ask what happened...  
  
Dan: What the hell was that all about?  
  
Egon looked up at me, and pushed up his red rimmed glasses, as the told me in his monotone voice...  
  
Egon: Class 7 astral projection. Something that I've never seen before.  
  
Ray looked up as a confused look came over his face...  
  
Ray: Astral projection? You mean it's not really here, and it's not really a ghost?  
  
Egon: No. It looks as if it's an image driven mental projection of something more powerful than the ghost itself.  
  
I didn't know what the hell Egon had just said, but I knew it wasn't good. I sure as hell didn't get a chance to get a glimpse at it, so I didn't quite get the idea of what it could have been. Well, it didn't exactly answer my question, on top of it. Egon continued talking...  
  
Egon: I was fortunate enough to get the reading recorded before it morphed, and attempted to attack us.  
  
Dan: Uh... Egon? What the hell does it look like?  
  
Egon: Daniel, I realize as a trainee, you're a little intimidated by your position, but we mustn't stall in the capturing of this demon of a sort with questions.  
  
I was kinda left dumbfounded by the fact that Egon thought I was a little kid. It was a simple question that I didn't get answered. Some of the questions I've asked within the last month, I've never had answered by Egon. Come to think of it, almost everyone had ignored my questions. And when they "Answered" them, they tell me about how I wouldn't understand, and how I'm a trainee and crap.  
  
Although I didn't agree on Egon's attitude against me, I decided to leave it at that.  
  
Peter: So what are we going to do?  
  
Egon: We're going to have to charge it.  
  
Peter: Egon, may I remind you that it might jeopardize a certain someone in the crew?  
  
Ray: He's right. Dan, you're going to have to stay behind.  
  
Dan: What?!  
  
Peter: Well, actually, I meant me, but that's a good one, too.  
  
Dan: Wait, why do I have to stay behind?  
  
Egon: We can't have you get hurt on a trainee mission, so you and Winston will have to stay behind.  
  
Dan: Oh, come on! That's bullshit! I can be just as good as you guys, just give me a chance!  
  
Ray: I'm afraid not, Dan. It's too dangerous a call for you to rush into.  
  
***  
  
Man, was I pissed. I couldn't stand the fact I was being treated like a 4 year old. Winston and I walked outside and waited in the parking lot. Winston was smoking a cigarette, kinda relaxin', only minding himself as he leaned on Ecto-1.  
  
I sat on the hood of the Cadillac, with my head in my hands. I looked down at the ground, as I sat there thinking of why the others think less of me. Winston walked up behind me, and sat next to me on the hood...  
  
Winston: I know how you must feel. I was a trainee once. Nobody really noticed me until about... oh, 3 months after the Gozer incident. After a while, that'll all change.  
  
I looked up, and turned at Winston. He took the last puff of the cig, then threw the butt on the ground. He took out a pack of Camels out of his sleeve pocket, pulled out another cig, and was about to light it...  
  
Dan: You know, those things will kill ya.  
  
Winston: I way I figure, this job will kill me before lung cancer does.  
  
Dan: What if you're not that fortunate?  
  
I think he got the gist of what I was saying. He took it out of his mouth, crumpled it up, and threw it on the ground. He then did the same to the whole pack of cigarettes.  
  
Dan: You know, it feels as if the others don't like me. Like, they think I can't do the work.  
  
Winston: I find that a little hard to believe, considering they were the ones that hired you. They just think you're not ready.  
  
Dan: I'm glad I don't have to wear a tag that actually says, "Trainee" on it.  
  
Winston: Well, that could be arranged.  
  
I shot him a look. I had an eerie Dirty Harry-Clint Eastwood look across my face that made him shut up mighty damn fast.  
  
It was about a half an hour later, we were starting to wonder what was taking the others so long. I turned back to Winston...  
  
Dan: Does it really take this long to get a ghost?  
  
Winston: Not really. At the most, 15 minuets.  
  
That was when the radios came back to life...  
  
Egon: **_ SHANNON! ZEDDEMORE! WE NEED BACK-UP!_**  
  
Ray: **_ HELP! LARGE FLAS... (cuts out) ...BLINDING US! VEN... (cuts out) CKED OUT!_**  
  
Winston took his radio off his belt. I sat as he spoke into it...  
  
Winston: Say again, Stantz!  
  
Egon and Ray: _** AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!**_  
  
And with that, the radio signal went dead. All that was picked up was static.  
  
Winston: Stantz, Spengler, Come back! Over?! Stantz! Spengler!  
  
Winston dropped the radio, and my mouth fell open. Winston's radio cracked open, and the guts shattered on the ground. The both of us looked at each other...  
  
Dan: What the hell just happened?!  
  
Winston: The guys are in deep! We have to go in after them!  
  
***  
  
I thought I was going to puke. Those last words Ray said were replaying in my mind over and over, as we walked inside the warehouse.  
  
(echoing) _ HELP! LARGE FLAS ...BLINDING US! VEN... CKED OUT!_ (echoing) _ HELP! LARGE FLAS... BLINDING US! VEN... CKED OUT!_ I tried to think of what Ray was trying to say: Help! Large flashes are blinding us! Venkman has been knocked out!  
  
I was starting to wonder if I made the right choice in jobs. Winston had his thrower drawn, and was somewhat nervous of walking in. I couldn't blame him, I felt the same. I took out the extra PKE Meter that was in Ecto-1, and turned it on. Since my previous experience with the meter, I now figured out how to use it.  
  
I took a scan of the area, and got a fix on something on the other end of the warehouse. I felt less tense after I got that reading, and then I showed it to Winston. He re-holstered he thrower, and we both took a breath. Before we went looking for this thing, I needed to ask...  
  
Dan: What was Egon saying about astral projections?  
  
I didn't know if Winston was the man to answer my question, be he was the only one left to ask...  
  
Winston: It's something when a person has an out-of-body experience.  
  
Ok, maybe he did know the answer.  
  
Dan: Well, what does this thing look like?  
  
Winston: Well... I can't explain. It's one of those things you need to see to know what it is.  
  
Ok, the second person that didn't really bother to answer my question. Well, I can't say that... he couldn't describe it, not like everyone else, who would of just avoided it. I let that one go.  
  
Dan: So, what's the plan?  
  
Winston: Well, we're going to have to split up, and box it in. Since it is a projection, we can't trap it, but try to force it to go back were it came from.  
  
Dan: You mean force it back into its body?  
  
Winston: Yeah, something like that.  
  
Geez... can you believe it? I was right! Well, close, but it's good enough.  
  
Winston: Alright, full stream, drift at 10 degrees.  
  
Dan: What?  
  
Winston: Turn the silver dial on the right of the gun, next to the heat sink, all the way up, and click up the top switch next to the orange lights up.  
  
Learn something new everyday. Sorry, back to the point. After I adjusted my pack's power settings, we split up. It was supposed to be synchronized attack, but somewhere in the middle, one of us goofed. Ok, I admit it, it was my fault for what was to happen next.  
  
Winston walked along the north wall, the I came from the east. I didn't know it, but the lace to my boot was untied. When I walked passed a stack of boxes, my lace became wrapped around a splinter on the forklift platform underneath the boxes. I got caught, and I fell like a ton of bricks. I quickly unhooked myself from the box, and tied my boot back up.  
  
I was about to continue on my way, when another bright flash came from the corner of the warehouse. There was a rumble, and then a scream...  
  
Dan: Oh, shit! WINSTON!  
  
I hauled as much ass as I could to get there, but the flash of light died down, and the screaming stopped. I came around the corner, but I was too late. All I saw was smoke lining the floor. When the smoke cleared, I found a patch attached to a shred of fabric. It was the NO-GHOST patch from Winston's uniform. I backed up, and I found 3 more of the same patches on the floor not too far from the other... It was Peter, Ray and Egon's patches.  
  
I was starting to get a bad vibe. I picked up the patches, and put them in my pocket. I took the PKE meter out, and started to look around to see if I could find the ghost that did it. Sure enough, I found it. I did the last thing I could think of...  
  
Dan: Screw forcing it to do anything! I gettin the hell outta here!  
  
Alright, so, it was the pussies was out! Hey, when four of your fellow Ghostbusters suddenly disappear, what the hell are you gonna do?! As I turned around to leave, the meter started beeping wildly. As I ran, I looked at the meter, and whatever the hell it was, it was gaining on me. It seemed it didn't want me to leave without me being in a body bag.  
  
When I got out the door, it suddenly started banging on the door, trying to get out. I held the door shut, but was on the verge of breaking through. When I thought it was about to break through, I took my thrower, and melted the seams of the metal door to the metal doorframe. I jumped into Ecto-1, and tried to start it, but it would turn over.  
  
The metal door that lead to the inside of the warehouse started to glow orange, and then white. The door blew up, sending melted pieces of the door all over the place. A bright blue glow came from the door, and I saw a ghostly young woman standing there. When this happened, she wasn't easy to describe, but now looking back, you can say she looked like Natalie Portman. For a moment I stalled to look at her flowing, yet braided hair. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing blood red. She looked over to me, and saw me sitting in the driver seat of the Ecto.  
  
She started to walk on air, as she approached me. I didn't even to get out of the driver side door. I slid over to the passenger side, hopped out, and started to run like nuts. As I looked behind me, I tripped over a concrete parking pillar. I rolled over, and saw the woman hovering over me. She looked down to me, and licked her lips as she said to me...  
  
Ghost Woman: Yes, you will do just fine. You should do just as good as those other four.  
  
Dan: This means I'm screwed, doesn't it?  
  
Without saying a word, a bright light flashed before my eyes. Through the blinding light, I saw a symbol appear on the girl's buttoner. It looked like a medical symbol. A large light beam appeared from it, as suddenly an extremely large, ugly reptile-like creature emerged. It looked exactly like the large creature that Luke killed in Jaba's palace in the Return Of The Jedi.  
  
The creature bent over, and picked me up, and looked at me. I would have went for my thrower, but my hands were pinned to my sides.  
  
Dan: I guess this answers my question.  
  
I started to feel my body tingle. I started to feel cold and weak. My right arm started to burn, right where the patch was sitting on the sleeve of my uniform. I tried to do something to see if I could somehow get free of this thing. I felt around under the grip of the beast. My hands were getting numb, but I still could feel around my weapon belt. I found the foot trigger to the trap...  
  
Dan: Hey, big guy! You like being blinded?!  
  
I pressed the trap trigger, and from under the creatures grip, the proton vortex from the trap flashed. The creature let out a large bellow, and dropped me. I looked up, and I found the beast had disappeared. The Ghost Woman started going into convulsions, then she collapsed. The blue glow that she had around her disappeared as well. I didn't know weather to just trap her and get it over with, or if I should of ran away, and take care of it some other time.  
  
To this day, I still don't know why the hell I did this, but I didn't do either of those... Instead, I approached her. I unhooked my thrower, and turned it on in case she decided she wasn't done trying to kill me. Strange enough, I was able to physically touch her. She was wearing clothing that was retro-60's. She looked like a flower child, so to speak. I shook her. When she moaned, and started to shift, I immediately got up and jumped back.  
  
She sat up, and looked around, as if she was a regular person waking up from a sound sleep. When she saw me, she looked startled, but another odd thing was, her eyes weren't glowing blood red anymore. She looked at me...  
  
Girl: Who are you? And how did I get out here?  
  
I just shook my head in disbelief, and looked back at her.  
  
Dan: Who am I? Who am I?! I'm the fucker you just tried to kill!  
  
I armed the thrower at her...  
  
Dan: Look, are you going to get into the trap quietly, or do I have to force you?!  
  
Girl: Hey! Whoa, calm down! What did I do?!  
  
Dan: Are you or are you not a ghost?!  
  
Girl: No! Where did you get that idea from?!  
  
For a moment, something was odd about this girl. I took out the PKE meter again, and took another reading. The readings were gone.  
  
Dan: Who are you?  
  
Girl: My name's Nichole Alcaline. I was sleeping in the warehouse. How did I get out here? And who are you?  
  
It was obvious she had no memory of what had happened just now, nor was she a ghost or an "Astral Projection."  
  
Dan: I'm Dan Shannon. I'm a Ghostbuster. We were called in here because there were reports of a large creature roaming the building. Apparently, you were possessed by it, it killed four of my colleagues, and almost did the same to me!  
  
Nicole: Oh, no! Not another group of innocent people! Please tell me this is a joke!  
  
I pulled out the patches, and showed them to her. I then compared them to the half burnt one on my jumpsuit sleeve.  
  
Dan: I hate to tell you, but I wish it was a joke!  
  
I helped Nicole up, and we both walked into the warehouse. We went into one of the distribution offices, and spoke...  
  
Nicole: To start off with, I've been a teenage runaway for 32 years...  
  
Dan: Wait a minuet... how come you look like you're 17?  
  
Nicole: I'm getting there. I ran away because my family was abusive, I didn't have any friends, and everyone I knew hated me. I ran away in 1963, it was then I began thinking of a way, when I did go back home, to kill everyone and anyone that's ever messed with me, and that was when I met Spearkipy. In exchange for my body at night, I could have immortality, and he would kill anyone that's ever done anything bad to me.  
  
My mouth was open. As you can tell, I was speechless.  
  
Dan: Well, what happened?  
  
Ok, not entirely, but whatever.  
  
Nicole: Well, everyone I knew... My mother, my father, my older sister... everyone what was abusive... Spearkipy killed them.  
  
Dan: Whoa. I've heard of a grudge, but damn!  
  
Nicole: Over the years, he still hung with me, but suddenly, for no reason, I started loosing control of him. He started killing people, and at times sending them to different plains of reality. It depends on which one if people were messing with me or him. If it was me, he killed them. If it was him, he just sent to another dimension. He is a protector to me, but he's getting worse! Now he's just killing people that hasn't even said "hi" to me.  
  
To imagine, this is the kind of crazy shit the others had to put up with for 11 years.  
  
Dan: Have you tried telling him to stop?  
  
Nicole: I wish it was that easy. After we combined, there was no way for us to separate.  
  
Dan: Do you think my colleagues are still alive?  
  
Nicole: I don't know. After all, I am asleep when he appears.  
  
I paced back and forth in the office as I tried to think of what Egon would do in this kind of situation. There was only one: Go back to the firehouse, and research.  
  
***  
  
Taking Nicole with me, we drove back to GBHQ in Ecto-1. It was now about 11:25 at night. When I opened the doors to the firehouse, and pulled the 59 Caddy into the garage area, Janine Melnitz, the secretary, jumped up from her desk, and ran to the driver side window. She spoke into the window at me...  
  
Janine: Dan, where have you been?! You've been gone for over 2 hours! And where are the others?!  
  
I opened the door, and got out. I looked at her...  
  
Dan: Janine, I don't know how to tell you this, but the others are in serious shit.  
  
Janine: Oh my god... They're not dead, are they?!  
  
Dan: I don't know.  
  
Nicole, at this time, had decided to help herself out of the Ectomobile. Janine looked over to her, then looked at me again...  
  
Janine: Who's the beatnik?  
  
Dan: ::under breath:: Janine, I'd try not to say anything to make her mad. Trust me. ::regular voice:: Uh, this is Nicole Alcaline. I have to ask her a couple of questions, and run a couple of tests.  
  
Nicole: Tests?  
  
Dan: Relax. It's nothing that'll put you in an uncomfortable position. Janine, can you put a pot of really strong coffee on?  
  
Janine: Why?  
  
Dan: Because we have to keep our guest awake for one hell of a long time. Plus, I need some, too.  
  
Janine: Ok.  
  
Dan: Thanks.  
  
After that, Nicole followed me up stairs to Egon's lab.  
  
***  
  
I searched the reference library to find this, "Spearkipy."  
  
Dan: Lets see... "New York Hauntings." No. "Spates Catalog." No. Ah, here it is. "Tobin's Spirit Guide."  
  
I pulled it out of the selves, and opened it to the back, to the index. After a minuet, I looked around in the back, but didn't find an index. I closed the book, and looked to the cover...  
  
Dan: Well... That was a waste.  
  
I didn't put it back. I comically threw it over my shoulder, walked to the desk, into a chair which was facing Nicole, who was also sitting in a lab chair. I spun around, and logged into the Occult Reference Net, which seemed to be easier than looking a million years in a book by some dead dude named Tobin. I typed the name into the search dialog box, as Nicole looked over my shoulder...  
  
Nicole: What's that thing?  
  
Dan: What's what?  
  
Nicole: That flat television screen attached to a flat typewriter?  
  
Dan: It's called a laptop computer. It's an electronic device that computes data faster than the human mind. It can store information for decades at a time.  
  
Nicole: Groovy! I thought only the government had stuff like this!  
  
For a minuet, my face was riddled with confusion, as I looked over to her...  
  
Dan: "Groovy"? Never mind. Anyway, a lot as changed since the sixty's. Are you meaning to telling me you haven't been keeping up with technology at all? You haven't just walked into a Best Buy, and look around?  
  
Nicole: I'm afraid not. Although I do know what's going on news-wise. I try not to keep too out of the way of the new ages.  
  
Dan: Uh-huh.  
  
I turned back to the screen, and looked at the results of the database search. It found one entry. I clicked on it, and started reading the text...  
  
Dan: "Spearkipy - Indian Demon of Protection. Since the early 1500, when the discoverers of the "New World" first arrived, Spearkipy has protected the North American Native tribe of Shalinky. After the battle of Fort Wilderness, the Shalinky tribe called upon the Demon of Protection to seek revenge on those that killed the neighborly tribe of Cherokee. After the deeds were done, the beast became restless, and began killing the members of the tribe that called upon him. It has been believed since his release from the chief of the Shalinky tribe, Spearkipy has prayed upon those who wished others death, then uses its host to continue its killing until the host is killed by an outside individual."  
  
I scrolled down, and saw a scanned picture of the symbol that was shining on Nicole's chest when the creature appeared. I turned around, and looked at Nicole. She had her hands over her mouth, with her eyes wide. She spoke from under her hands...  
  
Nicole: Oh my God! What have I done?  
  
Dan: Calm down! Please, relax. It isn't your fault.  
  
Nicole: Yes it is! If I didn't want my family dead, I wouldn't have let this... Thing take over my mind!  
  
Dan: No, it isn't! You wanted your family dead because they were abusive! If they weren't abusive, you wouldn't have wanted them dead, and Spearkipy wouldn't even be here! It's not your fault!  
  
She stood up, and walked to the window in the front of the lab, next to the fire poll. She cried as she spoke...  
  
Nicole: It doesn't matter now! I agreed to something that was dangerous so long ago, and the only way it can be gone is if I'm killed!  
  
I stood up, and walked next to her...  
  
Dan: You know, that wouldn't solve a hell of a lot if I were to kill you. You'd be dead, and that thing would pick someone else to do his dirty work. I don't want to kill people, nor do you, so there's only one thing we can do... get that thing out of your head.  
  
Nicole: You just said the only we can do it is by killing me!  
  
Dan: There's always another way. And I think I know how.  
  
I turned to the fire poll, and slid down. Nicole followed me down. As we headed to the basement, Janine had 2 mugs of coffee, about to bring it up to us, when she stopped us...  
  
Janine: Here, I was about to bring it up to you.  
  
Dan: Uh, Janine, we had a change in plans. Nicole's not going to stay awake now.  
  
Janine: She's not?  
  
Nicole: I'm not?  
  
Dan: Nope. Janine, can you get me a glass of water, and two Tylenol PM?  
  
Janine: Well, sure, but what do I do with these?  
  
Well, I was still a little tired, so I grabbed both mugs...  
  
Dan: I'll take em. Trust me, I'm gonna need all the caffeine I can get here! On to the basement.  
  
***  
  
Nicole was standing in front of the large red metal device that was called the Containment Unit. I was rummaging around in the discarded and abandoned weapons storage, to find a very special piece of equipment that I was once told about. When I came out of the closet, Nicole was standing in front of the loading matrix. I put the box I had down on the work bench, and ran up to her.  
  
She was running her hands over the control switches, and was about to pull down the breaker switch to the power control, when I pulled her hand away from the control panel...  
  
Dan: Please, DON'T touch the unit!  
  
Nicole: Why, what is this thing used for?  
  
Dan: It's our Ecto Containment System. We put all the ghosts we catch in here. If you shut it down, you'll blow everything up within a hundred block radius!  
  
We walked down the steps from the matrix, then walked to the bench where I put the large box down at. I pulled out a rifle device that looked menacing. I set it down on the table, and turned on the light. Nicole once again looked over my shoulder...  
  
Nicole: What's that thing?  
  
Dan: It's called an Atomic Destabilizing Rifle. The guys used this a number of years ago, but it backfired. I'm attempting right now to try and fix it, so we can use it on your little friend.  
  
I opened the access panel, and immediately found the problem.  
  
Dan: Ray, you dope! You put too big a capacitor in here! No wonder it overloaded!  
  
I started work on the rifle, when Nicole screamed...  
  
Nicole: DAN! One of the ghosts escaped!  
  
I stood up like a flash...  
  
Dan: Wait... The alarm's not going off! That's not funny!  
  
Nicole: Oh, no?! Look by the stairs!  
  
I looked over, and saw a little green glob floating. I sat back down in the work chair...  
  
Dan: Don't worry about him, he's with us. Hey, Slimer! Come on down here, I need some help!  
  
Slimer flew down from the steps, and hover in front of Nicole. She tried to hold back her scream as the little green ghost looked at her with his orange eyes.  
  
Nicole: You let a ghost live with you?  
  
Dan: Call him the mascot of our little organization.  
  
Slimer, always interested in people as much as the others are in ghosts, began speaking to Nicole...  
  
Slimer: Iiee! I Slimer!  
  
Dan: Spud, don't try to scare her, ok?  
  
Slimer: Eers Wray?  
  
Dan: I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out now.  
  
Slimer: Wah appen?  
  
Man, I hate it when someone asks me a question where the answer is a story.  
  
Dan: Well, this girl here has this demon in her that comes out, and hurts people when she's asleep. Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston were attacked by it, and it's possible they're in a different dimension. I was the last, and I was able to get away. Now I'm trying to find out how to get them back, and I need your help, spud.  
  
Slimer hovered above the desk, and thought for a moment. He then saluted to me...  
  
Slimer: Ostbuder Slimer eorting or duty, er!  
  
Nicole: What did he say?  
  
Dan: He said, "Ghostbuster Slimer reporting for duty, sir".  
  
God, I must have been hanging around Ray too long. Soon enough, I'll start cooking like him. ::shutter::  
  
About 20 more minuets passed, and I finally got the right sized capacitor to fit in the rifle. I was having a hard time getting the prongs into the circuit board because the coffee was a little too strong... Come on, you know what I mean. Anyhow, I explained to Nicole and Slimer what I was planning on doing.  
  
About 10 minuets ago, Nicole took the Tylenol PMs, and now she was starting to fall asleep. I began taking her up stairs, and I helped her climb into the passenger seat of the Ecto-1. Slimer went through the backseat window and I got into the driver seat. As I started the car, Janine leaned into the window...  
  
Janine: Dan, you be careful out there.  
  
Dan: Don't worry. I'll make an attempt to come back alive with the others.  
  
Janine: And when you see Egon, please give this to him...  
  
For that one split second, I was waiting for a note, or something, when Janine kissed me on the cheek. I looked over to her...  
  
Dan: Ok, but I don't think it'll be the same coming from me.  
  
After that, I backed the Cadillac out, turned on the siren, and screeched off back to the warehouse.  
  
***  
  
When we arrived at the warehouse, it was a quarter after 1 in the morning. I helped Nicole out of the seat, and into the warehouse. I put her in a chair that was in one of the offices, and went back out to the car. I opened the back door, pulled out the pack rack, and pulled out the spare pack for Slimer. He flew out the window with the rifle, and we exchanged weapons.  
  
Dan: Alright, lets review the plan: When Nicole starts to have a blue glow around her, you fire your pack at her. When the demon comes after me, I'll fire at the symbol that's going to appear on her chest. After we pull them apart, I want you to stop firing, and try to wake her up anyway that you can. I'll switch from the standard neutrona thrower to the rifle, and weaken him enough for you to trap him. Alight, you got it?  
  
Slimer: Uh-huh! Les ak n oll!  
  
Just so you know, he said, "Lets rock n roll". Man, Slimer hangs around me too much, and I hang around Ray too much. Which one's going to become me more, is my question. Alright, that didn't make any sense, but lets press on anyway. As I walked in through the door, Slimer tried to fly in through the window that was on the other side of the warehouse.  
  
I pulled out the PKE meter, and held it close to my face, to see if Nicole had fallen asleep yet. I picked up two readings: Slimer's, and Spearkipy's.  
  
Dan: A Ghostbuster in training, 4 veteran Ghostbusters presumed dead, a girl possessed in a warehouse... Well, this is it. Time to prove myself worthy to wear this patch. ::pulls out other patches:: Well, guys... if you are in another dimension, you owe me a big apology when this is over.  
  
I put the patches back in my pocket, as I started back down the corridor. The rifle, which was attached to my belt along with my ghost trap and Ecto-grounding circuit, was bouncing off my leg with each step I took. My nerves were so out of whack, that my feet were starting to get cold.  
  
I took out the meter again, and looked for the transformed Nicole. I took a double take when I thought I saw that the readings were right on top of me. I looked up, and saw that huge ugly bastard holding a large crate above his head, about to smash it on my head, when I ran like crazy. It dropped the box, jumped down from the row of boxes it was standing on, and started going after me.  
  
I looked behind me, and I saw that Nicole was hovering behind the beast that was chasing me. I screamed at the top of my lungs...  
  
Dan: SLIMER! SLIMER! HELP!  
  
I came to a dead end when I found that the crates in that particular corridor were stacked in such a way there was no passage. The beast came closer to me. I didn't bother to let it get ahold of me this time. I went for my thrower, and shot the thing in the eye. When it was stalled because of the beam hittin it in the eye, I decided to try and make a run for it.  
  
When I came around, the now Deadite-like version of Nicole came down, and landed on top of me. She had me pinned to the ground. She went to the patch on my sleeve, and tore it off. She put her hand on top of the spot where the patch was, and it started to burn something onto my arm. As my arm burned, the symbol appeared on her chest again, and beams of light started shining on my face. It felt like someone was tugging on my soul, and I was about to pass out, when she suddenly jerked, and screamed.  
  
She rose off the ground, and got off of me. I came to my senses, stood up, and saw that Slimer had arrived. I looked over to my arm, and saw that she burned that same symbol into my arm. I took the thrower off my belt, and shot at the symbol on her chest. She started screaming an inhuman scream. A light emerged as me and Slimer pulled the girl and the demon apart from each other.  
  
Dan: Don't let up, spud! Keep pulling to your right!  
  
A sudden bright flash filled the space, as Spearkipy gave way to Nicole. The big MoFo landed into a pile of crates, as Nicole landed on the floor.  
  
Dan: Slimer, get her out of here! Wake her up, and get her out of here!  
  
I detached the lead-lined tube from the proton gun, and attached the rifle to it. As Spearkipy got up, he looked at me, then turned around to my little green partner, who was dragging an unconscious Nicole Alcaline to the other end of the warehouse. He started to go after Slimer, when I charged up the rifle...  
  
Dan: Hey, dickhead! Yeah, you! The ugly fucker with bad breath!  
  
It just looked at me from over it's shoulder, then went back to what it was doing. I pointed the gun to the leg of the beast, and shot it in the heal. It turned around, walked up to me, and kicked me back into a row of boxes. Slimer had dropped Nicole, because she her weight and the weight of the proton pack was too much for him. He unbuckled the pack, and tried to shake her awake. After a moment of doing that, he did the only affective thing...  
  
He slimed her.  
  
She snapped fully awake, then sat up. I got out of the boxes, then tried firing again at him. This time in the shoulder. He didn't even turn around that time. It was really starting to piss me off. It was then I got an idea on how to provoke him. I ran to Nicole...  
  
Dan: I hate to do this.  
  
Nicole: Do what?  
  
Dan: Nicole, don't take this the wrong way, but...  
  
I wound up, and slapped her. Spearkipy let out a large bellow, and focused all attention onto me.  
  
Dan: That got your attention, didn't it!?  
  
Boy, am I a jackass.  
  
Now, I went full force into blasting this sucker. I put the power setting on high, pulled the trigger, and stuck it to him! As I blasted him, I took out the meter, and saw that the readings were dropping. It was suddenly, a yellow proton beam came from the other direction. I looked over, and saw that the slimed Nicole had the Proton Pack Slimer had on.  
  
Nicole: This is for all those years being a parasite in my mind!  
  
We wrestled with the monster until he was weak enough...  
  
Dan: Spud... the trap!  
  
Slimer flew over to Nicole's pack, and pulled the metal box off the back of the pack. Slimer rolled the trap under, and threw the trigger to my feet.  
  
Dan: Trap out!  
  
I stomped on the trigger, and yelled...  
  
Dan: 3... 2... 1... Beams off!  
  
I released the petal at the same time we shut the beams off, and the black and yellow striped doors closed, sealing the demon that was of Spearkipy inside for good.  
  
Right above us, a portal opened, and at least 2 dozen people fell out of it onto the floor of the warehouse. And there, on top of the pile, were Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston. I dropped the rifle, and ran to them...  
  
Dan: Guys! Guys, are you alright?!  
  
Peter: Dan, you wouldn't believe the things we saw in there!  
  
I helped them down off the pile of people. There were an assortment of characters: US solders, New York Police, even some of the warehouse workers. The others crowded around me...  
  
Winston: How did you get us out of there?  
  
Ray: Did you get the ghost?  
  
Peter: Who's the girl?  
  
Egon: What was your strategy?  
  
Dan: Ho! One question at a time!  
  
I didn't really want to answer questions, but lucky for me, Slimer came in at the right moment, and gave Peter his greeting slime...  
  
Slimer: Eetr! ::splat::  
  
Peter: UGH! Is there going to be one day where I DON'T get slimed by a ghost?!  
  
Nicole walked up from behind me, and everyone cringed...  
  
Ray: Uh, Dan? She's right behind you!  
  
Dan: Will you calm down? This is Nicole Alcaline. She was possessed, but I got that thing out of her, with a little help from the spud here.  
  
Slimer held his head up proud, but of course, Peter had to chime in with his 2 sense... which I think he's missing both of them...  
  
Peter: That bag of slime helped you?  
  
Slimer: Humph!  
  
Dan: Venkman, will you shut the hell up? Look, I'm not exactly happy with you clowns, excluding Winston. For the last week, you've treated me like a little kid, and when a call came, you excluded me from the bust! Well, look at us now! I saved all of your asses! Just because I'm new doesn't exactly mean I'm not ready!  
  
Peter, Ray and Egon hung their heads. They knew what I was talking about.  
  
Egon: We're sorry. Apparently we misjudged you in being able to handle the workload.  
  
Ray: Yeah. I didn't realize we were avoiding you that much  
  
Winston: Ok, now that we're done with the blaming, lets go home, and sleep this off. I think I had enough nightmares for one night.  
  
Peter: Agreed. On the way home, lets order a 20 sack from White Castle. I'm dying of hunger.  
  
As they turned around to leave, Egon thought it was imperative to say something...  
  
Egon: Peter, you shouldn't be eating such foods. It will give you an ulcer.  
  
Peter: Speges, this job'll kill me before ulcers do.  
  
Egon: What if you're not that fortunate?  
  
They stepped out. I stayed behind with Nicole. I picked up the trap, as she spoke to me...  
  
Nicole: Dan?  
  
Dan: What?  
  
She wound up, and slapped me...  
  
Nicole: That's for slapping me!  
  
Dan: But...  
  
She then grabbed me by the front of my uniform, and pulled me towards her...  
  
Nicole: And this is for saving me...  
  
She kissed me. All of the people that came out of the portal whistled and cheered for us.  
  
Well, that's "A Trainee's Run": The shitty POV of a Ghostbuster in Training. I know, I'm not being proud of this, but if you were there in my boots, what the hell would you think of this scenario? My point exactly.  
  
And just remember: Just because he's/she's a trainee, don't think they don't have the power of taking your position in the future. If they're determined to take that spot, they're willing to go through shit to get it. Like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, who literally crawled through shit to freedom, getting your spot is freedom for some. Just remember, you respect them, and they one day might save your ass.  
  
Take care all, and respect your successors,  
Dan "Ectodude" Shannon.  



End file.
